This sweet bean paste is used for the traditional Japanese sweets like Dora-yaki, Daifuku-mochi etc.
You can buy a ready made paste in a Japanese food store in London. Available in a tin as well.
You also can buy a dried Azuki (Aduki or Adzuki) beans packet in a big supermarket. Or a tin beans, would be good idea, if you're a bit lazy or have no time.
Soaked the beans over night or just straight from the tin.
Use a quite large pan and the water and beans together, bring to the boil and reduce the heart medium - low, simmer for 1 hour or a bit more perhaps. Drain the beans and squeeze the excess liquid as possible as you can. Back the beans and the sugar (the same amount of the beans or less or more as you wish) into the pan and gently simmer until the liquid has almost gone (see pic. on the top, I prefer a bit more drier). Stirring constantly, especially near to the end. I use the dark brown sugar. Taste is so gooooood. But do not burn the pastes during the cooking.
This time I used the puff pastry.
Put the anko paste inside the cup cakes.
I'll make some Anko version mince pies for Christmas this year. Sounds yammy, doesn't it?
If you tried one of my recipes or made another Anko version, let me know, how was it? Made them easy or difficult? Because the sweet making is not popular things to do in Japan like the sushi making. Because you can buy the ready made sweets and sushi in everywhere in Japan. You don't need to make them yourself. So the Japanese people don't make those complicated food. Unless they love the baking or making sushi. Actually it is very very skilled job indeed. It would take a long time to master the techniques.
